Strange interior light problem

ScottFromNZ · Post by **ScottFromNZ** » 06 Apr 2004, 07:30

I have noticed lately that the car interior lights only come on sometimes when either of the front doors are open. Quite by accident today I found out that if I open a door and the interior lights are off and then open and close the glovebox (making its interior light go on then off) then the car's interior lights will go on. They will then go off again after the time delay and the cycle can be repeated by opening then closing the glovebox. Weird eh!! Any bright ideas?

ScottFromNZ · Post by **ScottFromNZ** » 06 Apr 2004, 10:09

I have since found that the same thing happens if I just thump the dash lightly above the glovebox instead of closing the glove box door.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 06 Apr 2004, 21:07

Are all the switches in really good condition? I'd try new door and glovebox switches first - they are cheap enough from GSF.
jeremy

rabenson · Post by **rabenson** » 06 Apr 2004, 21:49

Definitely sounds like a sticking door switch to me!
Ron

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 06 Apr 2004, 23:19

Both my interior lights stopped working. I put up without them for a long time. Eventually, I spent some time on them. It took nothing more than a few minutes to clean the bulb terminals.

Post by **philhoward** » 06 Apr 2004, 23:31

Now a very wierd one...The BX interior lights behave properly if the back doors are opened, but not the fronts (no light), yet all 4 doors show up on the "Doors Open" graphic on the dash. Any ideas?

DLM · Post by **DLM** » 07 Apr 2004, 03:22

Phil - The "Doors open" graphic is triggered by a switch on the lock, while the interior lights are triggered by switches mounted in the front of the a-pillar and b-pillar. Which doesn't however explain a TZi with fancy alarm system fitted where all the interior lights trigger correctly from all 4 doors, but the rear-door symbols don't show up on the doors-open graphic.
I suspect a little bit of intervention when the alarm was fitted.

Post by **philhoward** » 07 Apr 2004, 03:59

New switch (or cleanup) time - cheers DLM!!

ScottFromNZ · Post by **ScottFromNZ** » 10 Oct 2004, 20:59

Eventually got around to fixing the interior lights. I dropped the glovebox down and discovered a multipin plug had come out. Plugged it back in and refitted glovebox - fixed.
Cured the rattle from the glovebox area too which must have been the plug rattling.